Minister for Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen - on official visit in Canada

The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen visited Ottawa on May 9th on the first official visit since the 2015 elections in both Denmark and Canada. Minister Samuelsen met with his Canadian counterparts – Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Minister of International Trade François-Philippe Champagne. Minister Samuelsen also attended two business events and a meeting on globalisation.

Minister Samuelsen and Minister Freeland had a fruitful discussion on shared global interests including transatlantic cooperation, NATO, and security issues. They also discussed recent developments in Europe and North America at a working lunch where they were joined by Minister Freeland’s two parliamentary secretaries - MP’s Andrew Leslie and Matt DeCourcey.

Photo credit: Royal Danish Embassy
Minister Samuelsen and Minister of International Trade Champagne in Parliament.

During the meeting with Minister Champagne, the ministers discussed the CETA agreement on free trade between the EU and Canada, which the Danish parliament is expected to adopt on June 1st, and how the agreement will improve trade between Denmark and Canada. They also discussed aspects of international free trade and inclusive globalisation ahead of the OECD ministerial meeting in June which Denmark will be chairing. Minister Samuelsen also had the chance to discuss globalization with the Honourable Perrin Beatty, former minister and President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The Minister also participated in two events with Canadian and Danish participants.

In one event co-organized with Public Services and Procurement Canada, Minister Samuelsen promoted Danish green and innovative solutions for district heating. Minister Samuelsen spoke on the Danish energy transition and the role district energy plays in the integration of a large amount of sustainable energy in the Danish energy mix. The Danish District Energy Alliance and a number of other Danish enterprises also took part and shared experiences from green public/private partnerships.

At another event on digital transformation, the Minister was joined by two Danish IT companies - cBrain and Qualiware. Minister Samuelsen spoke on the digital transformation in the public sector and how Denmark has become the most digitalized country in the EU.

Photo credit: Royal Danish EmbassyDuring his visit to Ottawa, Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen took in the beauty of Canada’s capital during a morning run with Ambassador Niels Boel Abrahamsen before a busy day of meetings. The Minister later visited ‘The Famous Five’ monument on Parliament Hill entitled "Women are Persons!" celebrating a 1929 court ruling declaring women as persons under the law.